The Massacre of Big Toof River
by drewbi6
Summary: When an Imperial Guard attack goes horribly wrong, the Praetorian XXIV hold their ground in a futile stand against the green menace. (A short story of the fictional battle of Big Toof River which was based off the real life battle of Isandlwana.)


**Hello again, it has been a while since I did a story due to writers block and tests, but I am back and typing. This is a short story of first person perspective at the massacre of Big Toof River that was an actual battle in the war hammer 40k universe. And the Praetorians are my favorite guardsmen regiment, so read on for the carnage.**

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The Massacre Of Big Toof River

It all started a couple of days ago when a space hulk appeared in the Montar System in the Segmentum tempestus. All was quiet until it was known it carried a massive ork waaargh led by Warlord Bullgarg who had launched an attack on a savannah like world of Montar VII, and hoped to establish a ork empire in the region. The planetary Governor quickly sent out a distress signal seeing that the whole Montar System's population composed of about 700 individuals. The message was received and acted upon quickly, perhaps to quickly.

Lord commander Sherdan had returned after a long and bloody campaign against elder pirates, his ambition of his promotion clouded his judgement. After looking at some dodgy and sketchy recognisance by the imperial navy he saw the orks as minor threat and sent a small force to dispatch of them. The force were composed of 300 veterans of the XXIV Praetorian Guard and the 135th Tallarn Desert Raiders. Commanding the operation was colonel Al' Ter-Ay of the Tallan desert raiders, despite the bulk of the strike force being my men. My name is Captain Gilene of the Preatorian Guard, pleasure to meet you.

As soon as we made planetfall, Al (thats what I'm calling him) made haste moving against the orks despite the fact that spy craft couldn't get a good reading on ork numbers. I suggested we should use the blood axe mercenaries we hired during the last campaign as scouts, but Al said we can't trust them. Mind you, if you give orks loud guns, fungus like food and stuff to shoot at you can gain their trust any time. Al's plan was too split the force into three stages, the first stage led by captain Kaz-Ter would attack with the rough riders and armour smashing into the ork camp and dealing a critical blow before the orks were ready. The second column commanded by myself would swoop in along side in chimeras to cut off the routed orks. Lastly the third column led by Al himself would move in with the slow moving guns to mop up the resistance, a plan that all fell apart. Before we could get into position Kaz-Ter started crossing Big Toof River, he was always known for his gambling, but today was when his luck ran out.

The chimera rumbled around us, me and my command squad sat in silence, I had a tobacco pipe in my mouth and carefully tipped in a few dry leaves. I then reached into my coat pocket and pulled a lighter out and flicked in three times until a small flame appeared. I held it to the browned leaves until the leaves caught the flame and smoke appeared, I sucked and in the smoke. I didn't usually smoke unless it was a stressful situation. But seeing I was only 21 and this was my first time as captain, I felt a few butterflies in my stomach. I brushed my blonde hair out the way and checked my pocket watch, Kaz-Tar should have attacked by now.

"Sir…we have a problem." The vox operator said with a mix of fear and dread in his eyes, he looked older than me despite me having the authority.

"Speak man." I demanded taking another puff of my pipe and blowing out the smoke, the guardsman hesitated.

"Captain Kaz-Ter and the first column are under attack, they're getting slaughtered" I choked on tobacco smoke in my lungs, this could not have happened.

I stormed out of the chimera and ran until I reached the top of the hill and saw that the guardsman was not deceiving me. Down below the tallarn desert raiders were desperately trying to get up the bluff only to be helplessly cut down by the orks riding their crude war machine. All I could do was watch and hear the dying screams and the laughing orks.

"BUGGYS!" A Praetorian shouted as ork warbuggies started speeding up the hill, I pulled my power sword from its sheath and unholstered my laspistol.

"Orders sir?" My vox operator asked, I took a deep breath and turned around and fast walked back the chimeras.

"Running is not an option…get the chimeras into a circle, we hold our ground here!" I quickly shouted as my vox operator relaid the order, followed by the red coated soldiers leaving their armoured carriers.

The Praetorian Guard got themselves in front of the chimeras in rows of three, first rank kneeling, the second rank standing and the last row standing in the gaps, with the chimeras parked in a rough circle. With my company command squad joining me, Corporal Jones pulled back the bolt on the heavy bolter and we all waited. One hundred and fifty…one hundred and fifty men and women ready to sell their lives in a futile last stand against the tide of green. It makes me so proud inside.

"Men and women of the Praetorian guard 24th, here is were we will die, here is were we will be remembered. We have lost this battle, that is for certain, but that does not mean anything, we will be buried under a mountain of greenskin corpses and bravery will be our tombstone. We will not be known as the regiment that died, we will be known as the regiment that fought to the last man." It was followed by a cheer of all the Praetorians.

"At 300 yards! Volley fire, Present! Aim! Fire!" I shouted as the first rank of guardsmen fired off a wave of lass fire dropping the first wave of drivers.

"Second rank! Fire!" I shouted as the second wave of green skins fell, the orks then circled around us firing inwards with their shootas, the chimeras responded with multi laser discharges cutting swathes through the xenos ranks.

"Third rank! Fire!" I ordered as the third wave started Jones Let loose of the heavy bolter calving into the enemy ranks with the explosive rounds. We repeated the volley fire combat doctrine, the pile of orks growing and growing with every bright red wave concentrated heat beams. I fired of shots from my laspistol with every folly that went outwards, it may not have bean doing a lot but it did something.

"Cease, Firing!" I shouted over the lasgun fire as the battlefield went completely silent, the battle field was laden with twitching ork corpses and destroyed ork machinery.

"Why have they stopped? Why have they stopped captain?" Corporal Jones asked dropping the empty ammunition box and shoving a fresh box filled to the brim with bolter slugs.

"Jones my guess is as good as yours. Prepare yourself! Be vigilant! The enemy will not tire!" I shouted pulling the low powered charge pack and slamming in a fully charged one.

Suddenly the ground rumbled, then it rumbled again, I pulled out my monocular and examined the horizon. The smog started to clear and I saw that the absolute worst was to come, thousands of ork boyz poured out of the large rusted gates of the xenos camp. Stormboyz led the way hurtled through the air with crude rocket packs, along side them were war buggys and following them were a rushing river of boyz. Amongst them were armoured squiggoths with cannons mounted on their oversized saddles, and nobbs screaming their smaller kin onwards. The source of the rumbling revealed itself and I wished it stayed hidden, an ork gargant silhouette showed itself taking massive lumbering steps towards my company. Most men would have ran, most guardsmen would of either committed suicide or ran, but not the Praetorian Guard.

"Sir…I have only served under your command for today, but can I just say it was a honour." The vox operator said, he then straightened his pith helmet and held his M36 patten lasgun to his shoulder. The orks started to cross Big Toof River and swarm up the hill, I too held up my las pistol and aimed at the nobb leading the charge.

"At 300 yards! Volley fire, present. Aim Fire." I repeated as las fire burned through the ork hordes, my shot hit but it merely stung the nobb. Jones however with a scream of rage ripped the filthy xenos apart with a halt of bolter fire and swayed the gun from side to side dropping the orks. "Die green scrum!"

Ork upon ork fell as every swathe of las fire exited the barrels of our guns, the green skins piled up and more orks climbed over the top of them. With every wave, the tide inched closer and closer, my men had the cold eyes of grit and determination. None of them were going to break. None of them were going to run. All of them were going to die.

"Fix bayonets! We will show them cold steel of our will!" I shouted above the shouts and lasfire as the orks got within 10 yards of the line.

The orks hurled themselves only to be met with a wall of bristling bayonets and the strength of the men and women arming them. A ork nobb came at my men and with one slice decapitated the guardsman in front, while the ork was distracted I ran forward and ran the ork through his temple and with a swift kick thrusted the burly ork off.

"Up on the Chimeras!" I shouted while climbing up the side of one of the armoured transports, my company followed with some men dying as a sacrifice rear guard action. The fighting continued with the chimeras giving some hight advantage, wait, were is Jones? I looked down and saw Jones still arming his heavy bolter laughing with the bolter rounds, his loader had abandoned him and was clambering up onto the chimera. Finally Jones retreated and ran to the tanks in response to his firearm running out of ammo. An ork preyed on him raising his choppa, I raised my laspistol and scored a precision shot in the orks eye soldering his brain. The vox operator ran forward and helped him up and I threw him a lasgun.

"Thankya sir." He said dropping to one knee and firing into the horde, and the fight continued.

Stormbozs hurtled through the air being shot down with precision fire while orks tried to climb up the chimeras to either be bayonetted or kicked off to be crushed under foot. The pile of deceased became so great that eventually the orks were using it as a ramp to get at my men. The orks started to push us further inwards and wile the gargant started peppering fire down hitting friend and foe alike.

"Fallback…Fallback!" I ordered as the guardsmen started to back off, even if it didn't save them from being cut down by ork choppas. As of the crew of the chimeras, there was nothing that could be done but leaving them to the mercy of the greenskins.

In the middle of the circle stood a lone chimera which I climbed up with Jones and the vox caster along with a sergeant and two other guardsmen. We still fought on, I swung my power sword cutting at their thick heads, alas one by one the orks picked us off. Jones out of the battle pulled out tow grenades, pulled out the pins and hurled himself into the orks screaming the words. "See you soon captain!" As he went up in a flames and hot shrapnel sending a whole crowd of the orks with him to the afterlife.

Next to go was the vox operator who got his arm hacked off but still kept fighting until a slugga round penetrated his tan flak armour and buried itself into his chest. That only left me, literally standing alone in a sea of enemies. I swung my power sword cutting and slicing xenos. I seven foot nobb brought his axe down on me and cracked my flak armour. I didn't let the pain stop me as I severed the nobb's arm and stabbed him through his head. I was suddenly hit from behind, it felt like a wrecking ball. I landed and attempted to get up until a sharp cold piece of metal of impaled me to the tank, I then felt weak on the inside and felt warm liquid seeping from my chest.

"And so it concludes." The last thing I saw was my pipe falling and hitting the sand below, I then finally bled out with the sound of ork laughter around me.

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The campaign was a complete and utter failure and Bullgarg managed to establish a ork empire in the region that took many years to dislodge. As for Al and the third column, they managed to get away while the orks were celebrating their victory and the establishment of an ork empire in the sector to chase down the beaten survivors. Colonel Ter-Ay was dishonoured and demoted, he was to never to give independent command of a large force again. He died ten year later making a lone attack on a tyranid dominatrix. His men tried to stop but he gave his last word. "Let me go to my fate brothers...I must have peace from the ghosts that haunt me." He was never seen again after that. As for Warlord Bullgarg, he boarded a space hulk that entered the immaterium, the hulk was apparently destroyed in the warp, but that is just a rumour. On Praetoria a Monument stands with the names of the 150 men that died in the stand. The Preatorian Guard XXIV was destoryed.

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 **Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review, and like. I will hiiiiiiiiiiiiiighly appreciate it if you would post a review and please if I get something wrong in gramma, don't go on about it. And a than you to BIBITOT for giving me a early review. Peace.**


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